Personal communication service registration system and method

ABSTRACT

A simplified system and method is provided for effecting registration in a system for routing a call to a subscriber to a personal telephone number service in an integrated wired and wireless communication network by utilizing in association with a pair of land line terminals designated by the subscriber one or two adjunct registration devices. In a manual version a registration device is situated at the site of the subscriber premise terminal and registration in the ISCP of the advanced intelligent network (AIN) of the wireline system is effected by subscriber actuation of the manual device. In an automated version the registration device at the site of the terminal includes a transceiver for emitting a periodic low power and limited range scanning signal to detect the presence of a key chain device carried by the subscriber. This device includes a miniature transceiver to effect a handshake exchange with the stationary registration device upon entering its vicinity. Both embodiments may be provided with a second control for establishing a blocking and/or call forwarding condition in the user profile in the central office switch which contains that profile.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to personal communications service (PCS) and moreparticularly to systems and methods for effecting registration of asubscriber at multiple locations to enable communication with thesubscriber by dialing a single personal telephone number.

ACRONYMS

The written description uses a large number of acronyms to refer tovarious services and system components. Although known, use of severalof these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposesof this discussion, acronyms therefore will be defined as follows:

Action Control Point (ACP)

Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)

Base Station (BS)

Cellular Subscriber Station (CSS)

Central Office (CO)

Common Channel Inter-office Signaling (CCIS)

Customer/Dealer Service Company (CDSC)

Dual Tone Multifrequency (DTMF)

Data and Reporting System (DRS)

Directory Number (DN)

End Office (EO)

Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

Home Location Register (HLR)

Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP)

Mobile Identification Number (MIN)

Mobility Controller (MC)

Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO)

Personal Communication Service (PCS)

Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)

Qualification Request (QUALREQ)

Registration Cancellation (REGCANC)

Registration Notification (REGNOT)

Service Control Point (SCP)

Service Management System (SMS)

Service Profile Request (PROFREQ)

Service Switching Point (SSP)

Single Directory Number Service (SDNS)

Signaling Transfer Point (STP)

Service Creation Environment (SCE)

Telephone Company (TELCO)

Temporary Local Directory Number (TLDN)

Transaction Capabilities Applications Protocol (TCAP)

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

BACKGROUND ART

As described further hereinafter, the patent literature has recognized aneed for telephone service in which subscribers are provided with asingle personal telephone number which may be used to communicate withthose subscribers regardless of their physical locations. For example,callers to a personal number may automatically be connected to abusiness, residence, cellular or other phone, or voice messaging system,depending on the circumstances of the personal number subscriber at thetime of the call. Such service is herein referred to as Single DirectoryNumber Service (SDNS).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,636, issued May 24, 1994, to Rajendra Patel,describes a proposed single personal telephone directory number system.That patent describes a system utilizing the existing public andcellular communications systems to provide single directory numberservice by adding a radio tracking system and dedicated service nodelinked by DID/DOD trunks and Feature Group B/D trunks to the publicswitched telephone network, through which access is obtained to thelocal existing cellular network. The personal communicator carried byeach subscriber is not utilized for voice communication but rather ismore like a pager which can receive and display information dispatchedby a central transmitter. It contains a microprocessor and a number offunction and numeric keys. The function keys cause the communicator totransmit commands to direct special call handling such as "hold", "donot disturb", "take a message", "transfer", etc. The number keys may beutilized to indicate the directory number to which the call is to bedelivered. The commands transmitted by the communicator are passedthrough the separate radio messaging system to the dedicated servicenode.

There is available today in the leading public switched telephonenetworks an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) which providescentralized control of telephone services provided to subscribersthrough diversely located central office switching systems. In an AINtype system, central offices send and receive data messages from anIntelligent Services Control Point (ISCP) via a Switching Transfer Point(STP). At least some calls are then controlled through multiple centraloffice switches using data retrieved from a data base in the ISCP. Inrecent years, a number of new service features have been provided by theAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN).

U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,020 issued Jul. 5, 1988, to Joseph V. Fodale, forexample, suggests access authorization in a multiple office environment.The Fodale system restricts access to a long distance telephone networkbased on the status of the billing number associated with the call,i.e., delinquent. The access control is provided through multiple localand toll offices but is centrally controlled by a data base which storesaccount status information. The local office serving a calling telephoneextends a toll call to the toll office of the toll network carrier. Thetoll office queries the data base via a CCIS link regarding the currentstatus of the customer's account identified by the billing numberassociated with the call. The data base obtains the status informationof the billing number in question and translates that status into aresponse message instruction to allow or disallow extension of the tollcall through the toll network. The data base transmits the responsemessage to the toll office via CCIS link, and the toll office disallowsor extends the call through the toll network as instructed by theresponse message.

A number of the features provided by the prior art AIN type intelligentnetworks relate to specialized call processing of incoming calls, asdiscussed below.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,860 issued Mar. 4, 1980, to Roy P. Weber discloses asystem for providing special processing of incoming calls via a numberof local switching offices based on information stored in a central database. The local and toll offices of the telephone network compile a calldata message and forward that message via a CCIS link to the centraldata base, essentially a Service Control Point or SCP. The data base atthe SCP translates the dialed INWATS number, included in the message,into a call control message. The call control message includes anunlisted destination telephone number, which is then returned to theoffices of the network via CCIS link. The network uses the call controlmessage to complete the particular call.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,611,094 and 4,611,096 both to Asmuth et al. disclose asystem for providing custom incoming telephone call processing servicesto a corporate customer operating at geographically dispersed locationsthrough a plurality of local office switches. A customer program storedin a central data base is accessed to provide instructions to theswitches to complete incoming calls to customer locations in accord withspecial services defined by the corporate customer. Incoming calls tothe customer are routed to an Action Control Point (ACP) which typicallyis a modified toll office. The ACP has a number of "primitive" callprocessing capabilities, such as providing voice prompts to callers andreceiving additional caller inputs. The customer program controls theACP's to string together the desired primitive call processingcapabilities to process each call to the customer. Specified parametersstored in the program, such as time of day, caller location and datainputs responsive to the voice prompts, determine the final customerstation to which each call should be completed. The customized callprocessing disclosed by Asmuth et al. can also include customizedbilling for calls, e.g., by splitting charges between the customer andthe caller. The Asmuth et al. system sets up a billing record for eachcall in the ACP or toll office. Asmuth et al. also teach procedures forhandling of calls directed to a corporate customer when the call servingoffice does not have all of the capabilities needed for processing thecall in accord with the customer's stored program. In particular, uponrecognition of the deficiencies of the call serving office, the Asmuthet al. system transfers call processing to a second office havingadequate capabilities for completion of the call.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,718 issued Nov. 29, 1988, to Sandra D. McNabb et al.suggests centralized recording of call traffic information. Thearchitecture is similar to that disclosed by the earlier discussedpatents to Weber and Asmuth et al. to the extent that local and tolloffices communicate with a central data base via CCIS link. The McNabbet al. system improves over the incoming call routing provided by theWeber patent and the two Asmuth et al. patents discussed above by addinga data gathering function to the centralized data base which stores theindividual customer's call routing program. In McNabb et al. the centraldata processor provides call attempt records and a traffic data summaryof all calls directed to a particular 800 number.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,267 issued Jul. 12, 1988, to Bernard J. Riskinteaches routing of an 800 number call, where the dialed numberidentifies a particular product or service, to the nearest dealer forthe identified product or service. The toll office sends a messageincluding the dialed 800 number and the area code of the caller to adata base which translates this into a standard ten digit telephonenumber for the nearest computer at a Customer/Dealer Service Company(CDSC). The telephone network then routes the call to this computer,which answers the call and provides a synthesized voice response. Thecomputer uses call data and or touch tone dialed information from thecaller to identify the selected product or service and then accesses itsown data base to find the telephone number of one or more nearby dealersin that product or service. The computer then calls the dealer andconnects the original caller to the called dealer.

Several other patents use a network similar to the AIN type intelligentnetwork to provide personalized services to individual subscribers, forexample when they are away from their home telephone station.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,035 issued Jan. 26, 1982, to David S. Jordan et al.patent discloses a method of providing a person locator service throughmultiple exchanges of the switched telephone network. Each subscriber isassigned a personal number uniquely identifying the subscriber. Anabsent subscriber inputs a number to which calls are to be completed,such as the number where the subscriber can be reached, into a centraldata base. A caller wishing to reach the subscriber dials the numberuniquely identifying that subscriber. In response to an incoming calldirected to the unique number, a telephone switching office havingaccess to CCIS sends the dialed number to the central data base referredto by Jordan et al. as an SSP. The data base retrieves the storedcompletion number for the called subscriber and forwards that numberback to the switching office to complete the call. The subscriber canupdate the stored data from any telephone. Also, the subscriber canspecify whether to charge calls via the person locator system to thesubscriber or to the caller.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,373 issued Feb. 6, 1990, to Chinmei Lee et al.discloses a system for providing special telephone services to acustomer on a personal basis, when the customer is away form his or herhome base or office. A nationally accessible data base system storesfeature data in association with personal identification numbers. Asubscriber wishing to use personalized features while away from homebase dials a special code from a station connected to any exchange whichhas access to the data base and presents the personal identificationnumber. The corresponding feature data is retrieved from the data baseand stored in the exchange in association With the station from whichthe request was initiated. The exchange then provides telephone servicecorresponding to the subscriber's personalized telephone features. Atemporary office arrangement may be established in which thepersonalized features will be immediately available on incoming andoutgoing calls for a period of time specified by the subscriber.

Further modifications of the AIN system allow a TELCO to customize therouting of telephone calls via a graphical programming language used ona specialized terminal by telephone company personnel.

As seen from the cited patents, the prior art AIN systems areexclusively land line communications systems, i.e., they providetelephone communication services via wired telephone lines, which to thesubscriber typically is a tip and ring pair. The signaling protocol usedfor AIN allows only for control of telephone network switching elementsin response to queries originated by network switching elements. Wiredline communications, even those provided by AIN, are necessarily limitedby the fixed nature of installed lines. These systems make no provisionfor communication to any mobile unit.

Separate radio-link communications systems have been developed whichgenerally relied on the TELCO's only to provide trunks and voicecommunication to and from land line based parties. Operation of themobility controllers of the mobile or radio network has been controlledentirely within the radio-link communication network.

The most common type of mobile radio link communication systems is thecellular radio telecommunications system (cellular telephone or mobiletelephone system). The cellular telecommunications industry hasdeveloped roaming standards which when implemented will allow automatichandoffs from one cellular network to another during an establishedcall, and to allow roaming from one system to another while havingincoming calls follow the customer to the visited system. The protocolwhich accomplishes this are set out in the EIA/TIA publicationsIS-41.1-A, IS-41.2-A, IS-41.3-A, IS-41.4-A, and IS-41.5-A. For example,in all cellular systems conforming to IS-41 Rev. a. registration of anactivated roaming mobile station takes place automatically even if acall is not in progress or being requested. The IS-41 protocol is anout-of-band signaling protocol which may be transported by either X.25or SS7 links. No links to the land line network, however, havepreviously been established for IS-41 signaling.

The link between the mobile cellular user (CSS) and the appropriate basestation (BS) uses particular radio frequencies mandated by the FCC.Dedicated trunk lines serve as the link between the base station and themobile switching center (MSC), and the interface between mobileswitching centers within the same system (same cellular provider) isgenerally provided by dedicated land lines. Data links connect themobile switching center to a visitor location register (VLR), homelocation register (HLR), and equipment identity register (EIR), all ofwhich can be located at the mobile switching center or at a remotepoint. All three registers may serve more than one mobile switchingcenter. The HLR is the location register to which a user identity isassigned for record purposes, such as subscriber information, i.e.,directory number, profile information, current location, validationperiod. The VLR is the location register, other than the HLR, which anMSC temporarily uses to store and retrieve information regarding avisiting subscriber or user. The differences between the VLR and the HLRare moot when handoff of a mobile user or subscriber is limited to theMSCs within a single system (single provider), since all the users arepresumed to be listed in the home location register, and are validatedon that basis. The VLR becomes important only when a subscriber who isnot listed on the HLR of a cellular provider enters the system andregisters. This situation is commonly described as roaming.

After determining that a roaming subscriber is currently within itssurface area, the serving MSC sends a REGNOT (registration notification)to its VLR. The new serving MSC may detect a roaming subscriber'spresence through automatic autonomous registration without a callrequest, call origination, call termination (such as a page responsefollowing a call to the roamer port), or a service order. If the roamingsubscriber had previously registered with an MSC within the domain ofthe VLR, the VLR may take no further action other than to record theidentity of the MSC currently serving the roaming subscriber. If theroaming subscriber was previously unknown to the VLR, or if the MSCregistered information not available at the VLR, the VLR sends an REGNOTsignal to the HLR associated with the roaming subscriber. The MSCrecognizes this association based on the mobile identification number(MIN) reported by the roaming subscriber's mobil communication unit uponentering the new service area. The REGNOT signal sent from the VLR tothe MSC may be contingent upon the response received from the HLR. Forexample, the roaming subscriber may not currently be a valid subscriberof the system in which the HLR is located.

If the roaming subscriber was previously registered elsewhere, the HLRsends a REGCANC (registration cancellation) signal to the previouslyvisited VLR. That VLR (old serving system), upon receipt of thecancellation message, essentially removes all record of the roamingsubscriber from its memory. The REGCANC signal can be sent by the HLR atany time after it receives the REGNOT signal. The new serving VLRcreates an entry for the roaming subscriber in its internal datastructure and may send a QUALREQ (qualification request) signal to theHLR in order to authenticate the roaming subscriber and determine thevalidation requirements. The VLR, if required, may then send a PROFREQ(service profile request) signal to the HLR to obtain the serviceprofile for the roaming subscriber.

Many mobility controllers of the above described cellular systems arenow programmed to provide subscribers selected special services.Normally, roaming subscribers engaged in "feature calls" which requirespecial support by the system will not be handed off between systems. Ifthe mobile subscriber has roamed to another system and registered onthat system, normally the special features will not necessarily beallowed to the roamer. Normally handoff of a roaming subscriber in the"on-hook" state (not engaged in a call) will not take place when movingto a new system. Further, path minimization which is often found in thecontrol scheme of a single system may not be provided for when a handoffof a roaming user from one system to another occurs. Thus, specialservices or features available to a subscriber through the home systemare not available when the subscriber roams through other systems.

Data networks, such as X.25 packet switched networks, interconnect themobility controllers with each other for data communications, forexample to transfer necessary data from a subscriber's HLR to a VLR inthe mobility controller the subscriber's mobile station is currentlycommunicating with. The IS-41 protocols used by the mobilecommunications networks, however, have not been compatible with theprotocols used to communicate between SSP's and the ISCP of the landbased Advanced Intelligent Network.

There have been efforts to interface the two kinds of telephone deviceto provide unbroken access to at least one communication system at alltimes. One such arrangement is the well known cordless telephone. Thistelephone includes both a handset having a radio transceiver and a basestation having a transceiver. The base unit connects to a land linesystem. A DTMF dialer in the base responds to control signals receivedthrough the base station transceiver to request telephone services,e.g., place a call. When an outgoing call is desired, a data stream isoutput from the handset over a radio link to the base station,initiating an interrogation routine in which the identity of the handset(usually required or programmed into a handset microprocessor) isconfirmed at the base station. The desired telephone number is punchedinto a key set on the handset and output as a data stream. This datastream is received by the base unit and converted for use on the landline telephone system as DTMF signals.

Typically, both handset and base station include a microprocessor tocontrol operations thereof. These operations include a registrationbetween the handset and the base station before the base station willestablish communication with the land line.

Registration can occur automatically when a handset enters the area of abase station. Alternatively, the registration between handset and baseunit can occur when an incoming land line call is received by the basestation or when the user seeks to make an outgoing call.

Since cordless telephones are generally controlled by microprocessors, awide variety of functions such as intercom, three-way conversations,memory dialing, answering machine functions, and timed-automaticdial-out, are available. Also, since the base unit connects to astandard telephone, telephone network special services, such as thoseprovided by AIN, are available to the handset via its associated baseunit. Cordless handsets, however, use very little power and consequentlyhave a very limited range with respect to the base station andconsequently have limited range. Also, cordless telephone systemsgenerally operate at different frequencies than those used by cellulartelephone systems or microcell systems so that the cordless set cannotroam through the cellular network.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,578, issued Jul. 12, 1994, to Brennan et al.,describes another system for providing personal number services in apersonal communication services (PCS) system. This proposal alsoutilizes a dedicated PCS services node to reroute the call according tothe subscriber's service profile stored in a database. The service nodecontains provisions for attempting to communicate with the subscriberwith consideration for who is calling, when the call is made, and theurgency of the call. The subscriber is permitted control over theservice profile. In this system the service attempts to locate thesubscriber by "hunting", i.e., attempting to contact the subscriber at aseries of likely or specified locations until the subscriber is reached.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,092 issued Mar. 23, 1993, to Bamburak, describes asystem that provides location registration for a personal communicatorwithin a personal communications network. The system includes a personalcommunicator, operable with a cellular telephone, which is part of apersonal communications network which has the capability of maintaininga call forwarding number for the personal communicator. The personalcommunicator includes information for contact with the personalcommunications network. It also includes a receiving station wherein thereceiving station includes a call forwarding number. The system furtherincludes a means wherein the personal communicator and the receivingstation can communicate with each other and means for communicating thecall forwarding number to the personal communications network when thepersonal communicator is operatively positioned in the receivingstation.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,248, issued Oct. 5, 1993, to Tokunaga et al.,describes a personal number system that allows a subscriber to receive acall by a telephone registered under his/her personal telephone numberno matter where he/she carries the telephone. This is accomplished in amemory within the network by maintaining a reference table of thepersonal telephone number assigned to each subscriber, a station numberassigned to each telephone, and a subscriber loop address assigned to atelephone connection terminal of the network.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,860, issued Oct. 13, 1992, to McClure, describes acellular portable telephone assembly which is adapted for use inconnection with an automated registration and registration cancellationsystem such as that utilized in the management of rental cellulartelephone units.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,331, issued Oct. 4, 1994, to Emery et al. and iscommonly assigned with the present invention. That patent describes acomprehensive wireline/wireless integrated personal communicationservice. According to the patent, which is incorporated fully herein,the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) wireline system connects to andcontrols processing of calls to a Personal Communication Servicesubscriber's wireless handset via a home base station or a wirelesscommunication network. Depending on its current location, thesubscriber's handset automatically registers with the base station orwith a mobility controller of the wireless network. A new registrationwith the base station when the handset comes within range causes thatstation to update the subscriber's home location register in a centraldatabase of the AIN. Similarly, when a handset first registers with amobility controller, that controller updates the subscriber's homelocation register in the central database of the AIN. In response tocalls directed to the subscriber, the AIN accesses the Home LocationRegister (HLR) to determine the current location where the handset isregistered. The AIN then uses that data to route the call to the currentlocation. In response to calls from the handset, the central databaseprovides instruction data to the land line network and/or a mobilitycontroller to extend a requested special service to the callingsubscriber.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a simplified registration systemwhich may be manual or automatic and permits utilization of existingland line and wireless or cellular equipment and installations toprovide a Single Directory Number Service (SDNS). The registrationprograms the SDNS to either direct the call to the wireless network orto one of multiple predesignated land line directory numbers. Manualregistration may be effected by depressing a button. Automaticregistration may be effected in a simplified and economic fashion by thesubscriber physically approaching within a predetermined distance of apredesignated land line telephone and initiating an interaction betweenrelatively inexpensive adjuncts to the conventional land line, cordlessand mobile telephone systems.

According to one embodiment of the invention using adjunct equipment,depressing of a button on an adjunct unit (manual), or entering thepredetermined area of an adjunct unit (automatic), has the effect ofpulling dial tone to the land line terminal from the involved endoffice. This is followed by the adjunct unit causing auto-dialing an 800number which is the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) database. Onreceiving back stutter tone identifying the AIN, the unit downloadsmulti-frequency, touch tones to identify itself and to identify thelocation in a conventional manner. The location is identified by a threedigit code which can be associated with one of two land line locations.These usually would be "at home" or at a "business" land line directorynumber. Upon receiving a stutter tone back the terminal disconnects.

When the subscriber's transceiver is turned on in the cellular moderegistration is effected over an SS7 (CCITT Signaling System 7) link viaa Class 4/5 Office that is tied to the ISCP. An IS-41 message is passedfrom the cellular switch to the ISCP to indicate that the cellulartransceiver is in the cellular environment. The IS-41 protocol is anout-of-band signaling protocol which may be transported by either X.25or SS7 links. Following that signal, incoming calls to the single numberare directed to the cellular environment.

The SS7 network does the transport in both registration and queries.According to the invention, the registration is maintained in a databasein the ISCP. The signals passing through the Class 4/5 switch are DTMFtones identifying the personal line phone number which is the phonenumber of the mobile device. This establishes communication to the ISCPand the ISCP then downloads a three digit number to indicate whether thelocation is the home or the office.

The manual device or the triggered device constitute a separateregistration station associated with the local loop to the POTS (PlainOld Telephone Service) telephone at the site. The registration stationin broad terms comprises a switch which initiates auto-dialing when thebutton is pressed or a switch which is triggered by the presence of thesubscriber to initiate such dialing. For the automatic embodiment, theregistration station includes a very low power transceiver whichperiodically scans or transmits a limited strength signal to attempt tosense the presence of the subscriber. The subscriber carries what mayconstitute a small key chain device which comprises a transceiver. Thetransmitters associated with the transceivers emit a signal which islimited in range to the premises of the home or business location of thesubscriber. The two transceivers in the adjunct units essentially do ahandshake which is coded in a manner similar to a garage door opener orremote automobile lock control. Similar registration devices are used atthe home and office with the only difference being the three digit codethat identifies the location in the look-up table in the ISCP. The callsare directed to the destination indicated by the registration in thatlook-up table.

According to the preferred embodiment there is no de-registration.However, it is within the purview of the invention to effectde-registration in the automatic mode when the key chain device ceasesto respond to the scanner in the base station or in the manual mode byagain pressing the button. However, in the preferred embodiment node-registration occurs, but rather the next registration writes over orerases the pre-existing registration in the database.

At times a situation may occur where the subscriber is registered at asite, for example, the home, and goes out for a walk, so that a calldirected to that telephone results only in a no answer condition. Inthat circumstance, according to the preferred embodiment, the call wouldbe delivered, would result in a no answer situation detected by the ISCPafter a predetermined number of unanswered rings, and the call wouldthen be forwarded back to a voice mail box. On the other hand, with thede-registration embodiment a call may go directly to a voice mail boxwithout connection to the called telephone to establish the no-answersituation.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the manual version ofthe registration device or station may include a second button toestablish call forwarding. Following keying of the second button thesubscriber may then key in an alternate number, such as the phone numberof a neighbor, followed by depressing a keypad button to launch theupdate registration, which sends the neighbor's telephone number to theISCP. Upon arriving back home, the subscriber may again depress thesecond button to cancel that command.

When the user moves from the land line environment to a mobileenvironment, regular overhead messaging occurs as soon as the mobiletransceiver is turned on to register presence in the mobile environment.An IS-41 registration message initiates signaling through the STP to theISCP indicating that the subscriber is in the cellular environment andeffecting registration in the ISCP database. Incoming calls then triggeran SS7 message from the Class 4/5 switch to the ISCP. The answer returnsfrom the ISCP to direct forwarding of the call to the cellularenvironment. The standard message is sent to the MSC (Mobile ServiceController) to determine the condition of the mobile, i.e., on, off orbusy. If the mobile unit is on the switch goes back to the ISCP with atemporary telephone number which is aligned with the number with themobile unit, and that information is call forwarded out of the Class 4/5switch to the MSC with a temporary phone number. When the MSC receivesthe number it does a comparison with the MIN (Mobile IdentificationNumber), and then delivers the call to the MIN or portable unit. Thetemporary phone number is used because in this environment the mobileunit is treated as a roamer, i.e., not a home user in this cellularnetwork, even though the user may be in the city of his/her residence.In this cellular network the actual home is in the land line ISCP. Inorder to get the call to the person using the NPA-NXX it is given anumber that resides in the MSC. This is similar to what would happen toa regular cellular user if the subscriber was roaming in a differentcity. There would be a completely different NPA-NXX for that city, butthe system for that city would return the TLDN which would be thatcity's NPA-NXX. It would get out to that city and be delivered with thecellular MIN.

According to another embodiment of the invention, registration orde-registration may be effected at a land line station with an ISDNconnection without requiring completion of connection to the telephonestation and auto-dialing to effect storage of the registration in thedatabase at the ISCP. In this embodiment the registration orde-registration trigger from the land line's telephone is effected byhaving the registration station, whether triggered manually orautomatically, send a signal that the end office recognizes to signalregistration or de-registration to the ISCP over the SS7 network orequivalent signaling means, such as ISDN. In this embodiment theregistration or de-registration is effected without tying up a voiceline as with the auto-dialed 800 number call previously described.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention, theregistration station at the telephone site may send a signal to the endoffice to alter the subscriber profile or translation in the end officeswitch. This ability may be utilized to reduce the amount of signalingnecessary to SDNS call delivery. According to this embodiment of theinvention the SDNS incoming call to the personal number is firstdirected to the home based on the programming of the Class 4 switchwhich connects the land line and mobile networks. Assuming that thesubscriber is at home the subscriber profile at the EO for the home isin its normal state and the call and the call is accepted and completed.If the subscriber leaves home the adjunct registration station at thehome is either manually or automatically caused to initiate a signal tothe EO switch to alter the subscriber profile or translation to blockthe call and either direct it to the subscriber's mail box or to adesignated call forwarding number, such as a neighbor's residence aspreviously stated. Such call forwarding by subscriber programming ofhis/her service profile is described in the common assignee's U.S. Pat.No. 5,054,055 issued Oct. 1, 1991, to Hanle et al.

The office registration station may also be equipped to alter the userprofile or translation in the EO switch associated with the office. Thena call directed to the office by the ISCP will result in an SS7 query tothe EO. If the subscriber is present at the office and has not alteredthe profile, the call is completed to the office telephone terminal. Onthe other hand, if the subscriber has caused the registration station atthe office to alter the subscriber's office profile to block the call,the call will thereupon be routed to voice mail. This arrangementpermits elimination of both auto-dialing signaling as well as the numberof inquiries which are directed to the ISCP.

In the absence of an ISDN connection, registration utilizing the endoffice switch user profile may be effected, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, by programming the registration station sothat actuation of its switch, manually or automatically, draws dialtone, and then, instead of auto-dialing a predetermined number, theregistration station sends a distinctive tone or signal to cause theinvolved EO to make the appropriate change in the switch profile ortranslation of the subscriber as described above. Both embodiments, ISDNand non-ISDN, effect a form of virtual registration using equipment inthe end office switches to reduce the volume of signal handling by thenetwork.

According to still another facet of the invention the automaticregistration may include use of a so-called smart key chain device topermit registration at a common registration station such as arestaurant. The restaurant registration station is provided with atransceiver that regularly scans, as with the previously describedembodiments. The scan triggers any smart key chain devices within range.The trigger causes the smart key chain device to download to theregistration device information identifying the subscriber and effectregistration at a directory number (DN) for a telephone terminalmaintained by the restaurant. The registration station at the restaurantstores the registration via the SS7 network into the ISCP database.According to an alternative embodiment, the restaurant may display asign that the service is available. The subscriber may then manuallyactivate a switch and key pad in an adjunct device at the restaurant toeffect registration if desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides a conceptualized illustration, in general block diagramform, of a communications system for implementing the single directorynumber communications service of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a more specific block diagram of one embodiment of anintegrated land line and wireless communication system used in thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic drawing of a manually operated adjunctregistration device.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of an adjunct registration devicefor effecting automatic registration and having a manual switch foreffecting call blocking or call forwarding.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The single directory number service of the present invention uses anAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN) type architecture together withelements of a mobile communications system such as a cellular radiotelephone network. A conceptual example of an AIN and cellular systemfor implementing the service appears in simplified block diagram form inFIG. 1.

In the simplified diagram of FIG. 1, one or more central officeswitches, such as the Class 4 or 5 (4/5) switch 10 are locatedthroughout a state or region served by a telephone company (TELCO)providing the Single Directory Number Service (SDNS). Trunk linesconnect the Class 4/5 switch 10 to end office switches 12 and 14 eitherdirectly or through trunks and other switches. Each end office isconnected to individual telephone terminals, for example, to the PlainOld Telephone Service (POTS) phone 16 at a subscriber's home 18, and toa registration station 20 (described in detail below). Similarly, theend office 14 may be connected to a telephone terminal in thesubscriber's office 22 which may be a POTS phone 24 or a moresophisticated termination. The office 22 also contains a registrationstation 26 connected to the end office 14.

The Class 4/5 switch 10 connects via trunk circuit 28 to the cellularmobile switch controller (MSC) or mobile telecommunications switchingoffice (MTSO) 30. The MSC or MTSO is connected by voice and data linksto the base stations in cells indicated at 32 in a convention manner.Each central office has a Common Channel Interoffice Signaling (CCIS)type data link going to an STP as shown at 34 and 36 connecting the endoffices 12 and 14 to the STP 38. A CCIS packet switched data link 40connects the STP 38 to an Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP) 42.The MSC or MTSO 30 connects to base stations and antennas for the cellsites 32 in the conventional manner to provide wireless communicationsservices to cellular or PCS portable handsets 44. The MSC is alsoconnected by a CCIS type data link 45.

Each registration station 20-26 is bridged onto the local loopconnecting the telephone terminal to the end office. According to whichembodiment of registration station is utilized, the registration stationmay be provided with a transceiver and transceiver antenna 46 and/or maybe provided with one or more buttons or keys 48, 50 to actuate internalswitches. Where the registration station is provided with a transceiver,as may be utilized for automatic registration, each subscriber isprovided with a small transceiver device which is sometimes referred toherein as a key chain unit. Such a unit is shown diagrammatically at 52in FIG. 1 and is hereafter described in further detail.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the components of an AIN typeintegrated land line and wireless system, similar to the system of FIG.1, but showing somewhat more detail. In this figure, each of the CentralOffice (CO) or End Office (EO) switches is labeled as an "SSP." TheseService Switching Points, referred to as SSP's, are appropriatelyequipped programmable switches present in the telephone network, whichrecognize AIN type calls, launch queries to the ISCP and receive con,hands and data from the ISCP to further process the AIN calls.

SSP's can be programmed to recognize a number of different triggers asan indication that a call is an AIN call. For example, the trigger canrelate to the identification of the telephone line from which a call orother request for service originates, and such a trigger is useful foractivating certain services. At least initially, however, for incomingSDNS type calls the trigger is based on a recognition that theterminating station identified by the destination number is an SDNSsubscriber.

As shown in FIG. 2, all of the EO's 56-62 are equipped and programmed toserve as SSP's. Such central office switching systems typically consistof the above discussed Class 4/5 programmable digital switch with CCIScommunications capabilities. One current example of such a switch is a5ESS type switch manufactured by AT&T; but other vendors, such asNorthern Telecom and Siemens, manufacture comparable digital switcheswhich could serve as the SSP's.

A number of subscriber telephone lines connect to each of the SSP'swhich provide switched telephone communications services to subscriberterminals coupled to those telephone lines. Many of the TELCO'ssubscribers have POTS terminals, as shown. Those who subscribe to SDNS(Single Directory Number Service) will have a home registration unit,such as shown at 20 and 26. The registration unit may connect to theline in parallel with one or more standard telephone station sets asshown.

To provide wireless mobile communications, the network further includesa number of MSC's which communicate with the SSP's, STP's and ISCP ofthe AIN type telephone network. As shown in the drawing, the networkincludes cellular MSC's 64 and 66. Each of the MSC's connects to an SSPtype central office switch via a voice telephone trunk, shown in solidlines and each also connects to one of the STP's via an SS7 link.

The SSP's 56 and 58 connect to a first local area STP 68, and the SSP's60 and 62 connect to a second local area STP 70. The connections to theSTP's 56 and 58 are for signaling purposes. As indicated by the blackdots below STP's 23 and 25, each local area STP can connect to a largenumber of the SSP's. As shown by solid lines in FIG. 2, the centraloffices or SSP's are interconnected to each other by trunk circuits forcarrying telephone services.

The local area STP's 68 and 70, and any number of other such local areaSTP's, shown as black dots between STP's 68 and 70, communicate with astate or regional STP 31. The state or regional STP 72 in turn providescommunications with the ISCP 73. The STP hierarchy can be expanded orcontracted to as many levels as needed to serve any size area covered bythe SDNS service and to service any number of stations, central officeswitches, mobility controllers and mobile communication units.

The links between the SSP's and the local area STP's are CCIS links,typically SS7 type interoffice data communication channels. The localarea STP's are in turn connected to each other and to the regional STP72 via an SS7 packet switched network. The regional STP 72 alsocommunicates with the ISCP 73 via a packet switched networkcommunications.

Other networks can have an architecture essentially similar to thatdescribed above. The local area STP 72 communicates with a regional STP75 of the second network. The STP 75 provides CCIS type datacommunications with the second ISCP 74 and with the SSP's and ISCP's ofother networks, for example by packet switched connection to STP 72.

The above described data signaling network between the CO's and the ISCPis preferred, but other signaling networks could be used. For example,instead of the CCIS links, STP's and packet networks, a number of MC'stogether with several CO's and an ISCP could be linked for datacommunication by a token ring network. Also, the SSP capability may notalways be available at the local office level, and several otherimplementations might be used to provide the requisite SSP capability.For example, none of the end office switches may have SSP functionality.Instead, each end office would connect to a trunk tandem which in turnfeeds calls to a central SSP capable switch. The SSP then communicateswith the ISCP, as in the implementation described above, but in thiscase via an SS7 type CCIS link. In another embodiment, some of the endoffices are SSP capable, and some are not. Again, each of the endoffices normally communicates through a trunk tandem. For the SSPcapable switches, they communicate directly with an STP which relayscommunications to and from the ISCP, in the same manner as in theembodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. For those end offices which lack SSPcapability, calls are forwarded to the SSP capable trunk tandem which inturn relays data to and from the ISCP. In these alternate embodiments,the SSP capable trunk tandem switches are digital switches, such as the5ESS switch from AT&T.

The MSC's are connected with each other via IS-41 protocol trunks forexchange of data relating to handoff and to exchange of data forextending services to visiting subscribers of distant cellular systems.The IS-41 data trunks are actually a packet switched network, which maybe either an X.25 network or an SS7 network. To provide handoff during awireless call in progress, the MS's are also interconnected via trunkcircuits (not shown).

To allow data communication of HLR (Home Location Register) dataregistered in the ISCP's 73, 74, to visitor location registers in remoteMSC's, the network further includes a hub STP 76. The hub STP connectsto an X.25 packet switched data network, which currently carries IS-41data messages between existing MSC's outside the illustrated servicearea. The hub STP 76 couples IS-41 messages between the X.25 network andthe SS7 network, shown by the dotted line data communication link to theregional STP 75. The communication through the hub STP 76 allows outsideMSC's to communicate with the ISCP's of two or more networks providingthe SDNS type services as if the ISCP's were home location MSC's for thesubscribers when visiting another service area.

The messages transmitted between the SSP's and the ISCP's are allformatted in accord with the Transaction Capabilities ApplicationsProtocol (TCAP). The TCAP protocol provides standardized formats forvarious query and response messages. Each query and response includesdata fields for a variety of different pieces of information relating tothe current call. Of particular note here, an initial TCAP query fromthe SSP includes, among other data, a "Service Key" which is the callingparty's address and digits representing the called party address. TCAPalso specifies a standard message response format including routinginformation, such as primary carrier ID, alternate carrier ID and secondalternate carrier ID and a routing number and a destination number. TheTCAP specifies a number of additional message formats, for example aformat for a subsequent query from the SSP, and formats for "INVOKE"responses for instructing the SSP to play an announcement or to play anannouncement and collect digits.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ISCP 73 is an integrated system. Among othersystem components, the ISCP 73 includes a Service Management System(SMS) 78, a Data and Reporting System (DRS) 80 and the actual databaseor Service Control Point (SCP) 82. The ISCP also typically includes aterminal subsystem referred to as a Service Creation Environment or SCE(not shown) for programming the database in the SCP 82 for the servicessubscribed to by each individual business customer. Although not shownin detail, the ISCP 74 will typically have a similar integrated systemstructure. Alternatively, the second ISCP 74 may not be an "integrated"system. For example, the second unit 74 may include only a databasesystem similar to that of the Service Control Point (SCP) 82.

For standard telephone service, each central office switching systemnormally responds to a service request on a local communication lineconnected thereto to selectively connect the requesting line to anotherselected local communication line. The connection can be made locallythrough only the connected central office switching system. For example,for a call from station A to station B, the SSP 56 provides the callconnection without any connection to another central office. When thecalled line connects to a distant station, for example when station Acalls station C, the connection is made through the connected centraloffice switching system SSP 56 and at least one other central officeswitching system SSP 58 through the telephone trunks interconnection thetwo CO's.

In the normal call processing, the central office switching systemresponds to an off-hook and receives dialed digits from the callingstation. The central office switching system analyzes the receiveddigits to determine if the call is local or not. If the called stationis local and the call can be completed through the one central office,the central office switching system connects the calling station to thecalled station. If, however, the called station is not local, the callmust be completed through one or more distant central offices, andfurther processing is necessary. If at this point the call wereconnected serially through the trunks and appropriate central officesbetween the caller and the called party using in channel signaling, thetrunks would be engaged before a determination is made that the calledline is available or busy. Particularly if the called line is busy, thiswould unnecessarily tie up limited trunk capacity. The CCIS systemthrough the STP's was developed to alleviate this problem.

In the CCIS type call processing method the local central officesuspends the call and sends a query message through one or more of theSTP's. The query message goes to the central office to which the calledstation is connected, referred to as the "terminating" central office;for example, the query would go from originating SSP 56 to terminatingSSP 58. The terminating central office determines whether or not thecalled station is busy. If the called station is busy, the terminatingcentral office so informs the originating central office which in turnprovides a busy signal to the calling station. If the called station isnot busy, the terminating central office so informs the originatingcentral office. A telephone connection is then constructed via thetrunks and central offices of the network between the calling and calledstations. The receiving central office then provides a ringing signal tothe called station and sends ringback tone back through the connectionto the calling station.

The call processing routines discussed above are similar to those usedin existing networks to complete calls between stations connected toland lines. In an AIN system implementing SDNS and/or PersonalCommunication Service, these normal call processing routines would stillbe executed for completion of calls originating from stations notsubscribing to the service.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a manually actuatable registrationdevice 86 for use in proximity to the customer premise terminal to beregistered in association with the personal telephone number of asubscriber. The unit contains a first manually actuatable switch 88 foreffecting registration. A second manually operable switch 90 is providedfor blocking calls to the terminal associated with the registrationdevice and/or forwarding calls either to a voice mail box associatedwith the subscriber or to an alternate directory number which may beentered by the subscriber. The call blocking is effected by changing thesubscriber profile in the central office associated with the terminaland a second actuation of the same manual switch may permit thesubscriber to key in a forwarding directory number using the DTMF keypad of the customer premise terminal in the manner described in theaforementioned Hanle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,055. The device isprovided with a microprocessor 92, storage 94 and power supply 96 whichmay comprise suitable battery power. A line 98 provides a connection forbridging to the incoming communication line to the subscriber terminal.

The automatic registration device 100 shown in FIG. 4 includes a manualswitch 102 for effecting call blocking and/or forwarding, microprocessor104, storage 106, and power supply 108. The automatic registrationdevice also includes a transceiver 110 capable of radiating a signalover a very limited area such as the residence of the subscriber. Anantenna 112 is provided for this purpose. The automatic registrationdevice is connected to the communication line via line 114. The portableregistration device 52 in FIG. 1 is also provided with a miniaturetransceiver, microprocessor, memory and source of power which ispreferably battery power similar to that utilized in calculators anddevices such as the key chain automobile latch devices.

The registration system provides registration for the routing of a callto a subscriber to a personal telephone number service in an integratedwired and wireless communications network such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2in the manner now described. In the automatic embodiment, a firstadjunct registration device of small size is provided to each subscriberto be carried by the subscriber, for example, in the manner of a keychain device such as an automobile lock actuator. The portableregistration device contains a transceiver programmed to respond toreceipt of a predetermined wireless signal.

A second adjunct registration device, such as the device 100 in FIG. 4and 26 in FIGS. 1 and 2, is located at the site of the land lineterminal which the subscriber selects for registration in the system. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the registration device is bridged to thecommunication line connecting the terminal unit to the telephonenetwork. The registration device at the site of the terminalperiodically scans or transmits a limited strength signal to attempt tosense the presence of the subscriber. When the subscriber carrying theportable unit enters the mutual range of the two registration units,i.e., the unit sending the scanning signal, and the transceiver in theportable unit, the portable transceiver detects the scan signal andtransmits a response. This response is detected by the terminalregistration device to, in essence, complete a handshake operation.

This initiates action in the stationary registration device via themicroprocessor and storage, whereby a signal is transmitted over thepremise link with the telephone network to the service switching point(SSP) serving that terminal. According to one mode of operation, thestationary registration device auto-dials a predetermined number, suchas an 800 number which is identified with the AIN database. On receivingback stutter tone identifying the AIN, the unit downloadsmulti-frequency touch tones to identify itself and to identify thelocation in a conventional manner. The location is identified by a threedigit code which can be associated with one of two land line locations,such as the home and the office. Upon receiving a stutter tone back, theunit disconnects. As a result of the exchange, the AIN ISCP stores thehome directory number as the present registration of the subscriber.

In the manual embodiment, the same sequence may be carried out by thesubscriber depressing the button 88 to actuate the switch in thestationary registration unit at the site of the residence telephoneterminal. This mode of utilization of the system involves the creationof an off-hook condition at the terminal under control of theregistration device. This draws dial tone and connection is made overthe local loop and any intervening links to the SSP serving theparticular terminal. The number which is auto-dialed is detected by theSSP as requiring an AIN connection and triggers the formation of anappropriate TCAP message through the STP to the ISCP.

An alternative to this procedure is provided in an embodiment whereinthe stationary registration device causes an off-hook condition at theterminal end of the local loop or communication line and uponestablishment of connection immediately dispatches a data message whichtriggers the SSP to dispatch a TCAP registration message to the STP andISCP.

Still another embodiment of the invention permits avoidance ofestablishment of the local loop connection to the SSP. This embodimentutilizes a data link from the registration device is available to theSSP. Such a link may be provided, by way of example, by utilizing anISDN connection to the terminal and utilizing the D channel of the ISDNlink to directly communicate with the SSP and ISCP.

Once the registration of the subscriber as being located at theresidence terminal is stored in the storage of the ISCP, incoming callsto the personal telephone number trigger a TCAP inquiry to the ISCP. TheISCP responds with routing directions which indicate that the subscribermay be reached at the residence terminal directory number. Such aconnection is thereupon established through the network.

If the subscriber located at his/her residence location desires to blockor forward calls without changing the registration, such as to establisha "do not disturb" condition, or to have the calls forwarded to adifferent destination, such as the subscriber's voice mail box or adifferent directory number, this may be effected by depressing theblocking button or switch 90 or 102 as the case may be. Actuation of theswitch causes the stationary registration device to create a callblocking situation by changing the user profile of the subscriber at thecentral office where that profile is located. This may be effected byusing connection to the central office and simply setting the bit forcall blocking in the user profile. Where call forwarding is desired, theforwarding destination may be established in the manner described indetail in the above mentioned Hanle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,055. Callblocking may be set up in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No.5,060,255 to Brown, which is commonly assigned with the instantapplication.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention, the blockingand/or call forwarding conditions may be established using the datachannel of an ISDN connection or the equivalent between the stationaryregistration device and the network.

The office premise terminal of the subscriber may be registered in thesame manner utilizing a similar registration device or devices at theoffice site. Similar call blocking and/or forwarding may also beeffected in the same manner.

When the user moves from the land line environment to a mobileenvironment, regular overhead messaging occurs as soon as the mobiletransceiver is turned on to register presence in the mobile environment.An IS-41 registration message initiates signaling through the STP to theISCP indicating that the subscriber is in the cellular environment andeffecting registration to that effect in the ISCP database. Incomingcalls then trigger an SS7 message from the Class 4/5 switch to the ISCP.The answer returns from the ISCP to direct forwarding of the call to thecellular environment.

It will be readily seen by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent invention fulfills all of the objects set forth above. Afterreading the foregoing specification, one of ordinary skill will be ableto effect various changes, substitutions of equivalents and variousother aspects of the invention as broadly disclosed herein. It istherefore intended that the protection granted hereon be limited only bythe definition contained in the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A registration system for routing a call to a subscriber toa personal telephone number service in an integrated wired and wirelesscommunications network, comprising:a central office switching systemconnected to communication lines connected to subscriber premiseterminals including at least one service switching point for selectivelyproviding switched communications between the communication lines; amobile switching center connected to the central office switching systemarranged for selectively providing wireless communications between saidcentral office switching system and wireless mobile communications unitsby using control data conveyed to at least one service switching pointthrough a service transfer point; a network controller arranged forselectively providing control data to effect land line communications,and arranged separately from the central office switching system and themobile switching center, said network controller being connected to bothsaid mobile switching center and at least one service switching pointthrough at least one service transfer point arranged to convey controldata to effect communications, said network controller storingpreprogrammed call processing data associated with subscribers who areassociated with the communication lines connected to consumer premiseterminals connected to the central office switching system and saidmobile switching center and who are also associated a mobilecommunication unit, said network controller having additional storagecapacity; a first adjunct registration device which is portableassociated with each of said subscribers, which registration deviceincludes a low power transceiver programmed to respond to receipt of apredetermined wireless signal; a second adjunct registration deviceassociated with the consumer premise terminals associated with saidsubscribers, said second adjunct registration devices including lowpower transceivers programmed to periodically transmit a predeterminedwireless signal associated with at least one of said first adjunctregistration devices to cause said first registration device transceiverto respond, said second adjunct registration device responsive toreceiving said response causing the conveyance of a signal to at leastone of said service switching points, whereby said service switchingpoint originates a signal to said network controller to cause storage ofregistration of the subscriber associated with said first adjunctregistration device.
 2. A registration system according to claim 1wherein said conveyed signal is a data signal between the site of saidterminal and said second adjunct registration device and said serviceswitching point, said signal being conveyed without requiring connectionof said terminal and its associated communication line to a centraloffice switch.
 3. A registration system according to claim 2 whereinsaid data signal is conveyed at least partially over the data channel ofan ISDN link.
 4. A registration system according to claim 1 wherein saidsecond adjunct registration device is programmed to react to receipt ofthe responsive signal from said first adjunct registration device bycausing said terminal to go off hook and then initiating a signal tosaid service control point to cause registration of said subscriber aslocated at said terminal in said storage associated with said networkcontroller, whereby calls to the personal directory number of saidsubscriber are directed to said terminal identified by said registrationin said storage.
 5. A registration system according to claim 1 whereinsaid second adjunct registration device includes manually actuatablemeans which upon actuation subsequent to said registration causesinitiation of a signal to the central office containing the serviceprofile of said terminal, whereby said profile is changed to cause callsto said single number of said subscriber directed to said terminal to beblocked without connection of said terminal to a central office switchover its associated communication line.
 6. A registration systemaccording to claim 5 wherein said blocked call is call forwarded to adifferent terminal.
 7. A registration system according to claim 6wherein said different terminal comprises a voice mail terminal.
 8. Aregistration system according to claim 6 wherein said different terminalcomprises a directory number chosen by said subscriber.
 9. Aregistration system according to claim 1 wherein said signal to saidservice switching point is conveyed by common channel interofficesignaling.
 10. A registration system according to claim 9 wherein saidsignal to said network control comprises a TCAP message and said networkcontroller comprises an integrated service control point.
 11. Aregistration system for routing a call to a subscriber to a personaltelephone number service in an integrated wired and wirelesscommunications network, comprising:a central office switching systemconnected to communication lines connected to subscriber premiseterminals including at least one service switching point for selectivelyproviding switched communications between the communication lines; amobile switching center connected to the central office switching systemarranged for selectively providing wireless communications between saidcentral office switching system and wireless mobile communications unitsby using control data conveyed to at least one service switching pointthrough a service transfer point; a network controller arranged forselectively providing control data to effect land line communications,and arranged separately from the central office switching system and themobile switching center, said network controller being connected to bothsaid mobile switching center and at least one service switching pointthrough at least one service transfer point arranged to convey controldata to effect communications, said network controller storingpreprogrammed call processing data associated with subscribers who areassociated with the communication lines connected to consumer premiseterminals connected to the central office switching system and saidmobile switching center and who are also associated with a mobilecommunication unit, said network controller having additional storagecapacity; a registration device associated with the consumer premiseterminals associated with said subscribers, said registration deviceincluding a manually operable control device including means to initiatethe conveyance of a signal to at least one of said service switchingpoints, whereby said service switching point originates a signal to saidnetwork controller to cause storage of registration of the subscriberassociated with the terminal with which said registration device isassociated, said registration device includes subscriber actuatablemeans which upon actuation subsequent to said registration causesinitiation of a signal to the central office containing the serviceprofile of said terminal, whereby said profile is changed to cause callsto said single number of said subscriber directed to said terminal to beblocked without connection of said terminal to a Central office switchover its associated communication line.
 12. A registration systemaccording to claim 11 wherein said conveyed signal is a data signalbetween the site of said terminal and registration device and saidservice switching point, said signal being conveyed without requiringconnection of said terminal and its associated communication line to acentral office switch.
 13. A registration system according to claim 12wherein said data signal is conveyed at least partially over the datachannel of an ISDN link.
 14. A registration system according to claim 11wherein said registration device is programmed to react to subscriberactuation device by causing said terminal to go off hook and theninitiating a signal to said service control point to cause registrationof said subscriber as located at said terminal in storage associatedwith said network controller, whereby calls to the personal directorynumber of said subscriber are directed to said terminal identified bysaid registration in said storage.
 15. A registration system accordingto claim 11 wherein said blocked call is call forwarded to a differentterminal.
 16. A registration system according to claim 15 wherein saiddifferent terminal comprises a voice mail terminal.
 17. A registrationsystem according to claim 15 wherein said different terminal comprises adirectory number chosen by said subscriber.
 18. A registration systemaccording to claim 11 wherein said signal to said service switchingpoint is conveyed by common channel interoffice signaling.
 19. Aregistration system according to claim 18 wherein said signal to saidnetwork control comprises a TCAP message and said network controllercomprises an integrated service control point.
 20. A registration systemfor routing a call to a subscriber to a personal telephone numberservice in an integrated wired and wireless communications network,comprising:a central office switching system connected to communicationlines connected to subscriber premise terminals including at least oneservice switching point for selectively providing switchedcommunications between the communication lines; a mobile switchingcenter connected to the central office switching system arranged forselectively providing wireless communications between said centraloffice switching system and wireless mobile communications units byusing control data conveyed to at least one service switching pointthrough a service transfer point; a network controller arranged forselectively providing control data to effect land line communications,and arranged separately from the central office switching system and themobile switching center, said network controller being connected to bothsaid mobile switching center and at least one service switching pointthrough at least one service transfer point arranged to convey controldata to effect communications, said network controller storingpreprogrammed call processing data associated with subscribers who areassociated with the communication lines connected to consumer premiseterminals connected to the central office switching system and saidmobile switching center and who are also associated a mobilecommunication unit, said network controller having additional storagecapacity; a registration device associated with the consumer premiseterminals associated with said subscribers, said registration deviceincluding a subscriber operable control device including means toinitiate the conveyance of a signal to at least one of said serviceswitching points, whereby said service switching point originates asignal to said network controller to cause storage of registration ofthe subscriber associated with said the terminal with which saidregistration device is associated, said registration device includessubscriber actuatable means which upon actuation subsequent to saidregistration causes initiation of a signal to the central officecontaining the service profile of said terminal, whereby said profile ischanged to cause calls to said single number of said subscriber directedto said terminal to be blocked without connection of said terminal to acentral office switch over its associated communication line.
 21. Aregistration system according to claim 20 wherein said conveyed signalis a data signal between the site of said terminal and registrationdevice and said service switching point, said signal being conveyedwithout requiring connection of said terminal and its associatedcommunication line to a central office switch.
 22. A registration systemaccording to claim 21 wherein said data signal is conveyed at leastpartially over the data channel of an ISDN link.
 23. A registrationsystem according to claim 20 wherein said registration device isprogrammed to react to subscriber actuation of said control device bycausing said terminal to go off hook and then initiating a signal tosaid service control point to cause registration of said subscriber aslocated at said terminal in storage associated with said networkcontroller, whereby calls to the personal directory number of saidsubscriber are directed to said terminal identified by said registrationin said storage.
 24. A registration system according to claim 20 whereinsaid blocked call is call forwarded to a different terminal.
 25. Aregistration system according to claim 24 wherein said differentterminal comprises a voice mail terminal.
 26. A registration systemaccording to claim 24 wherein said different terminal comprises adirectory number chosen by said subscriber.
 27. A registration systemaccording to claim 20 wherein said signal to said service switchingpoint is conveyed by common channel interoffice signaling.
 28. Aregistration system according to claim 27 wherein said signal to saidnetwork control comprises a TCAP message and said network controllercomprises an integrated service control point.
 29. In a registrationsystem for routing a call to a subscriber to a personal telephone numberservice in an integrated wired and wireless communications network,comprising:a central office switching system connected to communicationlines connected to subscriber premise terminals including at least oneservice switching point for selectively providing switchedcommunications between the communication lines; a mobile switchingcenter connected to the central office switching system arranged forselectively providing wireless communications between said centraloffice switching system and wireless mobile communications units byusing control data conveyed to at least one service switching pointthrough a service transfer point; a network controller arranged forselectively providing control data to effect land line communications,and arranged separately from the central office switching system and themobile switching center, said network controller being connected to bothsaid mobile switching center and at least one service switching pointthrough at least one service transfer point arranged to convey controldata to effect communications, said network controller storingpreprogrammed call processing data associated with subscribers who areassociated with the communication lines connected to consumer premiseterminals connected to the central office switching system and saidmobile switching center and who are also associated a mobilecommunication unit, said network controller having additional storagecapacity, a method comprising the steps of: actuating a registrationdevice at the site of a subscriber premise telephone terminal;responsive to said actuation conveying a signal to at least one of saidservice switching points; generating a signal at said service switchingpoint and conveying said signal to said network controller; responsiveto receipt of said signal at said network controller storing data instorage associated with the network controller to indicate registrationof the subscriber associated with said the terminal at which saidregistration device is actuated as being located at said terminal.
 30. Amethod according to claim 20 wherein said conveyed signal is a datasignal between said site and said service switching point which isconveyed without requiring connection of said terminal and itsassociated communication line to a central office switch.
 31. A methodaccording to claim 30 including the step of conveying said data signalat least partially over the data channel of an ISDN link.
 32. A methodaccording to claim 29 including the step of momentarily going off hookwith said terminal and during the off hook period initiating said signalto said service control point to cause registration of said subscriberas located at said terminal, whereby calls to the personal directorynumber of said subscriber are directed to said terminal identified bysaid registration in said storage.
 33. A method according to claim 29including the step of, subsequent to said registration and during thetime that said registration exists, initiating a signal to the centraloffice containing the service profile of said terminal; andchanging saidprofile to cause calls to said single number of said subscriber directedto said terminal to be blocked without connection of said terminal to acentral office switch over its associated communication line.
 34. Amethod according to claim 33 including the step of forwarding theblocked call to a different terminal.
 35. A method according to claim 34including the step of forwarding the blocked call to a voice mailterminal.
 36. A method according to claim 33 including the steps ofentering the directory number of a terminal to which calls are to beforwarded and forwarding blocked calls to said directory number.
 37. Amethod according to claim 29 including the step of conveying said signalto said service switching point by common channel interoffice signaling.38. A method according to claim 37 wherein said signal to said networkcontrol comprises a TCAP message and said network controller comprisesan integrated service control point.
 39. In a registration system forrouting a call to a subscriber to a personal telephone number service inan integrated wired and wireless communications network, comprising:acentral office switching system connected to communication linesconnected to subscriber premise terminals including at least one serviceswitching point for selectively providing switched communicationsbetween the communication lines; a mobile switching center connected tothe central office switching system arranged for selectively providingwireless communications between said central office switching system andwireless mobile communications units by using control data conveyed toat least one service switching point through a service transfer point; anetwork controller arranged for selectively providing control data toeffect land line communications, and arranged separately from thecentral office switching system and the mobile switching center, saidnetwork controller being connected to both said mobile switching centerand at least one service switching point through at least one servicetransfer point arranged to convey control data to effect communications,said network controller storing preprogrammed call processing dataassociated with subscribers who are associated with the communicationlines connected to consumer premise terminals connected to the centraloffice switching system and said mobile switching center and who arealso associated a mobile communication unit, said network controllerhaving additional storage capacity, a method comprising the steps of:periodically transmitting from the site of the terminal of a subscribera wireless signal associated with said terminal; detecting saidtransmitted signal with a portable registration device; responsive tosaid detection transmitting from said portable registration device awireless signal associated with said first transmitted wireless signaland responsive thereto; detecting said response at the source of saidfirst transmission and responsive to detecting said response conveying asignal to at least one of said service switching points; originating asignal at said service switching point responsive to said signalconveyed thereto and conveying said signal originated at said serviceswitching point to said network controller; deriving information fromsaid signal received at said network controller and storing in thestorage of said network controller data to indicate registration of thesubscriber associated with the terminal at which said signal to saidservice switching point originated as being located at said terminal.40. A method according to claim 39 wherein said signal is conveyed tosaid service control point as a data signal which is conveyed withoutrequiring connection of said terminal and its associated communicationline to a central office switch.
 41. A method according to claim 40wherein said data signal is conveyed at least partially over the datachannel of an ISDN link.
 42. A method according to claim 39 includingthe steps of, responsive to the detection of the response from saidportable registration device, momentarily going off hook at saidterminal, and during the off hook interval initiating said signal tosaid service control point.
 43. A method according to claim 39 includingthe steps of, subsequent to said registration and during the time thatsaid registration exists, initiating a signal to the central officecontaining the service profile of said terminal; andchanging saidprofile to cause calls to said single number of said subscriber directedto said terminal to be blocked without connection of said terminal to acentral office switch over its associated communication line.
 44. Amethod according to claim 43 including the step of forwarding saidblocked call to a different terminal.
 45. A method according to claim 44including the step of forwarding said blocked call to a voice mailterminal.
 46. A method according to claim 43 including the steps ofentering the directory number of a terminal to which calls are to beforwarded and forwarding blocked calls to said directory number.
 47. Amethod according to claim 39 including the step of conveying said signalto said service switching point by common channel interoffice signaling.48. A method according to claim 47 wherein said signal to said networkcontrol comprises a TCAP message and said network controller comprisesan integrated service control point.